10 Truths
by MelissaRose85
Summary: Ten things they know but will never say out loud. Based on the "10 Truths" LJ prompts. Various characters. Complete.


A/N: Another prompt group I've done in the past few days, also in the Bleach universe. No specific point in the timeline, although it is safe to say these come after the resolution of the big final battle with Aizen. This one includes a few different characters, and it is a tweaked version of the "10 Truths" prompt list that circulates on LJ. No real pairings, although there is a tiny bit of MatsumotoxIchimaru buried in there. Safe for kiddies of all ages.

Enjoy! R & R if you liked.

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_10 Truths_

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**1. Kuchiki Byakuya**

_He would never tell her he loved her. _

He would protect her. He would shield her. He would be her guide in this afterlife and hopefully settle the ghosts of his dead wife's words that writhed in his mind by treating her civilly and in the manner any noble female deserved. But he couldn't ever tell her how much she actually meant to him, how the nuisance she had once been had become the little sister he longed to let close to him. He could never let her know how much she actually meant, never let her see the light she brought into his life after Hisana's untimely death.

**2. Zaraki Kenpachi**

_He would die in battle._

In all the years he had wandered Rukongai and Seireitei, there had never been anyone that could deliver him the final killing blow. But like every good warrior, he longed to die in battle. And like every smart warrior, he knew that one day someone would be there, strong enough to finally put him down.

**3. Shih****ō****in Yoruichi**

_She would never falter._

She never regretted her decision to leave with Kisuke, but there were times that the weight pulled her down. Just once she wanted things to be easy again; she wanted some semblance of a regular life back. But she put her chin up and continued on. There were things to do, people to see, a boy to keep molding on the path to the destiny he had not yet fully fulfilled.

**4. Inoue Orihime**

_She would never forgive herself for the weakness she always showed them._

She had gotten them all hurt, almost killed, and while she plastered a smile on her face and went about her business every day, the nights were time for her to hate herself for the strength they had that she just couldn't capture. The night was when she let the shadows close around her and wrap her in a cocoon of sorrow and regret, the time when she allowed herself to remember that she wasn't capable of even saving herself. The night was recrimination steeped in disgust.

**5. Hisagi Shuuhei**

_He would forgive, but he could never forget._

Betrayal tasted foul, but sometimes he could get past it long enough to see the man that had once led him, been his mentor and friend for decades. The truth was black and dark and bleeding; it was the way he had assumed life really was when you got old enough to see how people really were.

**6. Matsumoto Rangiku**

_She would always love him._

Her captain had her loyalty. Her friends had her spirit. Her sake had her humor. Gin—Gin had her heart. No matter what he did, he would always hold it safe in his hands and she would never regret giving it to him when they were young and foolish enough to believe that happy endings really did exist.

**7. Shinji Hirako**

_He would regret getting them involved for the rest of his life._

At first, they had been too busy living, too busy running to even think. After, no one had blamed him. It didn't matter—he was capable of placing the blame for their situation squarely on his shoulders without their help. If he hadn't been friends with them, if he hadn't loved them, if he hadn't let that connection shine for everyone to see, Aizen would never have targeted them and they would have led happy lives. It was all his fault and he would never forget that.

**8. Unohana Retsu**

_She would be the glue that held them together._

Her centuries of service had brought untold horrors to Seireitei, injuries and war and pestilence that many of the younger shinigami couldn't imagine. And while they picked on her division, made fun of their weakness and laughed at their uselessness in combat, the Fourth was always the first place they turned when they were hurt, when disaster struck, when things fell apart. She would always be there to hold them up and keep everyone going as long as they needed her quiet strength and her gentle push forward.

**9. Iba Tetsuzaemon**

_He was born to serve, not to lead._

His loyalty was assured, as was his strength and his steadfastness. He wasn't the smartest, he wasn't the best, and he would never be the one that led the troops into battle. That didn't bother him in the least—someone had to be there to support the leader through the trials. Someone had to be the soldier that followed them into battle.

**10. Kurosaki Ichigo**

_He never wanted any of this. _

He would remember the people he had met, the things he had done, the battle he had fought for the rest of his life. The memories would be cherished as they all faded out of his now-normal life. And he caught the looks from the others—the sadness, the pity, the sympathy—but he didn't care what they thought. He had never asked for this. He had never wanted any of it, not since the day his mother had been snuffed out by the very thing that drug him into it.


End file.
